Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier may have been the most prolific passer, yardage-wise, on a North Carolina college team over the weekend, but Campbell’s Chad Mascoe Jr. and Shaw’s Christian Peters stole most of the headlines.
Mascoe and Peters both enjoyed 300-yard passing performances and led their teams to stunning road victories on Saturday.
Mascoe finished 18-of-29 for 306 yards and two touchdowns, helping Campbell knock off 17th ranked Western Carolina in Cullowhee. He outdueled WCU’s preseason All-American Cole Gonzales, who was picked off four times.
As for Peters, he broke a school record, accounting for six touchdowns and pushing Shaw past Albany State 43-40. Five of his scores came through the air, including a 28-yard strike to Ah’shaan Belcher with eight seconds left for the winning points. Peters also rushed for one TD.
Both QBs — and their teams — have been the talk of their respective towns all weekend. Campbell improved to 1-1 with suddenly increased expectations, while Shaw moved to 2-0 for the first time in 11 years.
Wake Forest’s Bachmeier may have joined the duo in the limelight had the Demon Deacons been able to hold on to a 30-17 lead against Virginia. The Cavaliers stormed back and won 31-30, putting a damper on Bachmeier’s 403-yard passing effort. He was 27-of-42 on the day with no interceptions and one touchdown.
Bachmeier is the first quarterback of this season in North Carolina to hit the 400-yard mark through the air.
There have been six quarterbacks to reach 300-passing yards in a game thus far.
Grayson McCall (NC State) and Joey Aguilar (Appalachian State) did it in week one, but both were flustered by powerhouse opponents (Tennessee and Clemson, respectively) in week two. East Carolina’s Jake Garcia threw for 308 yards in week one against Norfolk State and went for 283 on Saturday at Old Dominion but did not have a touchdown and recorded four interceptions.
Barton College’s new starting quarterback, Trevor Nored, hit the 300-yard plateau on Thursday, finishing 24-of-39 for 310 yards in a narrow loss to West Virginia State. Nored, from Waldorf, Md., transferred to D2 Barton from Rhode Island.
Peters, from Charlotte (Butler HS), has been on the Shaw roster since 2019. He played in eight games in 2021 (637 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs) and nine in 2022 (924 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs). But he only saw action in two games a year ago, finishing with just four attempts and two completions for 13 yards.
He has already matched his season high for touchdowns (six) and is halfway to his season high for passing yards after two games. He’s averaging 237 yards per game through the air after Shaw victories against Albany State (picked to win its conference) and Elizabeth City State.
Mascoe, from Kissimmee, Fla. (Osceola HS), played against Richmond a year ago (2-of-7) and saw the field in four games in 2022, playing behind Hajj-Malik Williams. When Williams transferred to UNLV in the off-season, that opened the door for Mascoe to step in as the starter. Thus far, the redshirt sophomore has delivered.
Bachmeier made two prior FBS stops before winning the starting job at Wake Forest heading into Saturday’s game. He played at Boise State from 2019-22, then played at Louisiana Tech last season.
Top Passers 2024 Season (300+ Yards)
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DIV | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | LONG | DATE | OPPONENT |
| Hank Bachmeier (Wake Forest) | FBS | 27 | 42 | 403 | 1 | 0 | 42 | Week 2 | Virginia |
| Joey Aguilar (Appalachian State) | FBS | 22 | 37 | 326 | 2 | 0 | 83 | Week 1 | East Tennessee State |
| Christian Peters (Shaw) | D2 | 20 | 42 | 322 | 5 | 2 | 53 | Week 2 | at Albany State |
| Grayson McCall (NC State) | FBS | 26 | 40 | 318 | 3 | 1 | 35 | Week 1 | Western Carolina |
| Trevor Nored (Barton) | D2 | 24 | 39 | 310 | 0 | 1 | 36 | Week 2 | West Virginia State |
| Jake Garcia (East Carolina) | FBS | 23 | 36 | 308 | 4 | 3 | 39 | Week 1 | Norfolk State |
| Chad Mascoe (Campbell) | FCS | 18 | 29 | 306 | 2 | 2 | 45 | Week 2 | Western Carolina |
